Penholder.



No. 744,494. PATENTED NOV. 17, 1903'. c. M. 000K.

PBNHOLDER. APPLI ATION FILED SEPT. 16, 1903. N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented November 17, 1903;

CARL M. coorgor CONNEAUT, OHIO;

PENHO'LDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,494, dated itlovember 17, recs. I Application filed September 16, 1903. Serial No. 173.451. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/.

Be it known that I, CARL M. -COK,.a citizen of the United States, residing at Conneaut, in the county of Ashtabula and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Penholders; and I do hereby declare the following to he a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The chief object of this invention is to provide a penholder with means for-gripping a pen which will also serve to eject the same at will and to prevent corrosion. To this end the said invention consists in the construction and combination of parts hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the penholder and pen in position for use, taken from the under side. Fig. 2 represents a similar view of the penholder without the pen, taken from above, the handle being slightly separated; and Fig. 3 represents a side view of the penholder and pen-point, the latter being partly ejected and the operators thumb and finger (indicated by dotted lines) in the act of offecting such ejection.

V A designates the handle of the penholder; B, its cylindrical body; 0, the pen-point or pen proper, and D a ball which holds said pen in place, permitting the shank c of said pen to pass in between it and the upper side of the forward end of the said body, also between the latter and the reduced forward end a of the handle. This forward end has a longitudinal slot 1) to allow expansion and permit the entrance of pen-shanks of diiferent thicknesses. The under side of said end of said body is provided with a broad transverse elliptical slot or opening B to permit the protrusion of the said ball, so that it may be turned by hand, and also to afford room for the entrance of the pen-shank within said body above said ball, as stated. The forward end of said body beyond the latter slot is of too small diameter to allow the escape of the said ball.

For ejecting the pen the operator takes the body B of the penholder between his thumb and finger, with the former on the ball D, as indicated by Fig. 3. He then moves his thumb slightly backward, so as to turn the ball forward, the pressure of his thumb also holding the ball tightly in contact withthe shank of the pen, so that the pen will be pushed forward out of the holder by such rotation and the friction of the ball against it. The slit d, in addition to the function already stated, facilitates the ejection of the pen by enabling said holder to yield more readily to this forward motion, which the friction of an unslotted penholder-body would resist. Y

By moving the thumb forward instead of backward in contact with the ball the latter will tend to'turn backward, drawing the pen more tightly into the body and between it and the reduced forward end a of the handle, thus easily remedying any accidental looseness. By alternately moving the thumb forward and backward the ball is made to rub the inner surface of the pen-shank and also to rub the pen-shank backward and forward against the inside of the forward end of the holder-body at the top thereof, thereby removing dried ink and rust, keeping the surfaces clean and practically doing away with all obstructions to the insertion and removal of pens. A very slight rotary movement of the ball will suffice for this purpose, and in ordinary use such movements will often oocur even without the knowledge of the user, so that the penholder is practically automatic in its self-cleaning action.

Of course any one of the operators fingers may be used to turn the ball instead of the thumb. Only a moderate backward movement of the member thus applied is needed in either case to cause the pen-point to spring several inches from the penholder.

An annular shoulder A of handle A at the rear end of reduced part a is in contact with the rear end of the pen-shank c and prevents the pen from being pushed in too far. It also braces the pen. The ball D may be of smooth metal, glass, porcelain, or other suitable material. The body and handle all the penholder except the ball-may be in one piece of metal or other material; also, a covering may be applied to its lower end.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A penholder provided with a free rotary device adapted to permit the insertion of the shank of a pen between it and theinner face of the said holder substantially as described.

2. A penholder provided with rotary means for ejecting a pen and slotted to facilitate such ejection and to accommodate pen-shanks of different thicknesses substantially as set forth.

3. A penholder provided with free rotary means, inclosed within its body, adapted to move the pen backward and forward for rubbing ofi dried ink, rust and other obstructions substantially as set forth.

4. A penholder-body having an opening on its under side, in combination with a ball, protruding through the said opening to be operated by the friction of the thumb or finger for ejecting the pen or otherwise moving it longitudinally substantially as set forth.

5. In combination with a ball D, a penholder-body inclosing the same and having its forward end of too small diameter to permit the escape of said ball, the said end be ing slotted longitudinally on top and provided with an opening below for the protrusion of said ball substantially as set forth.

6. In combination with a penholder-body and a ball inclosed therein, a handle adapted to enter the rear end of the said body and provided with a reduced forward part a, to permit the insertion of the shank between the said part and the inner face of said body, the said ball and body beingarranged and adapted for the former to be rotated by means outside the latter moving the pen forward or backward by its friction substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have this day signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CARL M. COOK.

Vitnesses:

GEORGE J. RECORD, BURTON E. THAYERL 

